Little Wonders
by Rhianna-Aurora
Summary: A series of one-shots, each one a snapshot of a moment in the lives of Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly. Sometimes, it's the mundane things that make life so meaningful. SquallxRinoa
1. First Meeting

**A/N: **(Okay, I promise not all the author's notes in this fic will be this long. I'm sorry for this one, I feel like a dumbass.)

So, I am taking place in a 100 fic challenge over on Livejournal, and these are the resulting fics from the 100 prompts. (Yes, I said 100. THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG ONE.)

This "story" is actually a series of one-shots, each one a stand-alone snapshot of a small moment in the lives and love of Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly. Some will be in-game, others post-game. Some might even be AU. It's hard to say, as I've not written them all yet. They are just coming to me randomly. :)

They are in no particular order, and you do not have to read them all to understand anything. Like I said, they are all meant to stand alone. The ratings will range everywhere from K+ through M. I'll make sure to give any warnings at the beginning of each chapter. I hope you enjoy these small moments that are seemingly mundane, but reflect on one of the most beautiful relationships in Final Fantasy's history. (And please let me know if any of the formatting is funky, like words all smushed together or what have you. I hate when that happens, and I don't always catch it.)

Anyway. This first one is rated K, and there's really nothing in it that requires any kind of warning. ONWARD!

**Destiny Starts**  
**(Prompt: "First Meeting")****  
**

Rinoa was in a good mood as she prepared herself for the SeeD graduation dance that balmy May evening. This was the evening that her whole life would change -- for the better, for the worse, for _forever_. This night, she would meet her Knight.

But she wasn't thinking about any of that at the moment. Right now, she was thrilled because Cid Kramer, headmaster of Balamb Garden -- and, might she add, her new freaking _hero_ -- had agreed to help her. And as soon as possible, he'd be sending some brand-spanking-new SeeDs to Timber to help her group, the Forest Owls, with their resistance movement. It was the miracle that they had been waiting for.

Of course, she'd be lying if she said that was the _only_ reason she was excited. Balamb Garden was also the home of one Seifer Almasy. It had been a while since Rinoa had last seen him, but she was nearly giddy with anticipation over the prospect of a reunion.

The previous summer, she and Seifer had spent a lot of time together -- they had gotten to be very close. And she couldn't wait to see him again. She couldn't help but wonder if that spark would still be there as she ran a brush through her long black hair.

She gave herself a final glance in the mirror, making sure her appearance was satisfactory. She was quite nervous, though it seemed silly. Rinoa Heartilly was _not_ a girl who was given to nerves. Even boys didn't make her nervous. But tonight … something felt different. There was a strange kind of energy in the air, she could sense it. She assumed it was just butterflies over seeing Seifer again, silly as that sounded to her. But there was no other explanation for it, was there?

Nervously, she touched the neckline of her white slipdress, and then gently fingered the wedding band that she wore on a chain around her neck. It had belonged to her mother, and in times when Rinoa felt uneasy, touching it calmed her immeasurably.

Tonight, however, it didn't seem to work. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was _off_. Shaking her head, she told herself she was being ridiculous. "It's just _Seifer_," she muttered irritably. "It's not like there is _anything_ to be worried about."

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door of the spare dorm room Cid had offered her for the night, and into the deserted Garden hallway.

Well, nearly deserted, anyway. As fate would have it, she saw Seifer standing with his "posse" -- Fuujin and Raijin at the end of the corridor. Barely able to contain her grin, she hurried over to them, her butterflies from just moments ago all but forgotten. "Hi, you guys!" she said brightly. Her smile faltered when she saw the glower on Seifer's face.

"Whoa, you look great, ya know?" Raijin crowed.

Rinoa smiled and dropped a curtsy, then looked back at Seifer, who had still not cracked a smile. "Hey. You look kinda down," she said, concerned. She reached out to touch his arm, but he brushed her aside. She frowned. This was _not _the reunion she'd be expecting. Not even close.

He waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. You do look nice, though," he amended quietly.

She sighed. Well, it was better than nothing, she supposed. Even if it didn't really seem like he meant it. "Thanks," she said dryly. "Oh, my Hyne, Seifer, I have to tell you! Cid agreed to help! He's going to send SeeD to Timber! Isn't that fantastic? Thank you _so much_ for setting up the meeting."

"I'm glad to hear it went well," Seifer said, his tone warmer. His eyes still looked distant and cold, though, and she really wished she knew what was bothering him.

Rinoa sighed. He was certainly in a sour mood this evening. "So, why aren't you all decked out in your brand new uniform? Cid invited me to stay for the dance, and I was so excited about it --"

"I'm not going to the stupid dance," Seifer said bluntly, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Have fun though." He motioned for Fuujin and Raijin and headed off down the hall.

"Seifer," she protested, a little shocked at his cold attitude. This was not the boy she had spent so much time with last summer. "Wait just a minute!" She chased after him, feeling _utterly_ ridiculous to be running after him like some kind of lovesick twit. Good thing no one was around to witness it. When she caught him up, she grabbed his arm. "How can you not be going to the dance?"

"Easy. I'm not going. Considering who _will_ be there, I'd rather spend time in the training center." He shook his head. "I'm glad you and Cid hit it off, though. See you 'round, Rin."

"Seifer. Won't you tell me what's wrong?" She put her hand on his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting, reassuring gesture.

Apparently, it wasn't.

"Nothing's wrong, Rin," he growled. "Just let it go, all right?" He shook her arm off his shoulder and continued walking down the hall, away from her.

She knew when she'd been dismissed. She couldn't help but be confused, hurt, and a little angry. Over the summer, Seifer had been so different. Wonderful, even. Full of hope and promise and dreams. But now? Rinoa wondered what had happened this last year to make him seem so bitter.

She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, and then headed for the ballroom. She was _determined _to enjoy herself, Seifer or no Seifer. Of course, he was still on her mind, but she was young, and the air was full of electricity and excitement. That strange energy she'd felt earlier, in her room, seemed to have come back once Seifer had walked away.

How odd, that it would dissipate while he was standing beside her, only to fill the air again the second he walked away. She wanted to ponder what it all meant, but she didn't want to squander her time thinking about things that she couldn't change -- at least not tonight. It was apparent that tonight, Seifer did _not _want to be around her, and she wasn't about to go where she wasn't wanted. That way would only end up making her miserable in the end.

If Seifer wanted to sulk, and if he wanted to refuse to talk to her, fine. One thing Rinoa had learned from her mother was that you shouldn't let your happiness depend on one person. She always got a sad look in her eyes when she told Rinoa that, and Rinoa knew, deep down, that she had done just that. And she'd paid dearly for it.

Rinoa reached the ballroom and gave pause after walking through the double doors. The sight before her was absolutely breathtaking. Sparkling chandeliers, polished brass and marble so smooth it was almost mirror-like, and the newly graduated SeeDs in their sharp blue uniforms. But most stunning and eye-catching of all was the enormous glass-domed ceiling. The stars twinkled brightly, and Rinoa felt as though she could simply reach up and pluck one right from the sky.

She accepted a glass of champagne from a young man in a waiter's uniform and did a quick scan of the enormous room. She knew he wouldn't come, but a tiny part of her -- the ridiculous part, she knew -- kept hoping to see Seifer walk through those doors. Somehow, though, she just knew that everything was different now. The electricity was almost palpable in this room. Something was here. Something … big was definitely here. But she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Rinoa sighed to herself as she walked around the ballroom. She had really thought that Seifer might be The One. She had thought that all the signs were there last summer, but now ... Now she just didn't know. Something had gone terribly wrong. Absence did not, apparently, make the heart grow fonder.

"Hi!" a cheery voice said. Rinoa snapped out of her reverie and looked up. She saw a girl, about her own age, with bouncy light brown hair and snapping green eyes. She wore a SeeD uniform and Rinoa thought she looked hopelessly adorable. "You look lost," she said. "I'm new here myself."

"Not lost. More like, lost in thought, I guess," Rinoa said honestly. "I kinda thought tonight was going to be different. Special." She sighed. The girl raised an eyebrow. Rinoa shook her head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sort of -- a client -- I guess. But I also -- I'm a friend of Seifer Almasy's." _Or I was_ …

"Oh, him." The brunette's brow furrowed. "Don't think he'll be here. He had a pretty bad day. I doubt he's in a party-ing mood."

"Bad day, huh?" Rinoa said quietly.

"Yeah, quite the scandal, actually. Something to do with not following orders during the field exam. They're pretty big on that around here. I'm sure he'll tell you the whole story himself." She looked at Rinoa, considering. "You -- close friends?"

"We sort of had a thing last summer is all. I don't even know if he's still interested. I just kinda thought maybe we'd reconnect tonight." Rinoa took a sip of champagne. "I think I was wrong."

"Oh?"

"He kinda blew me off earlier, when I saw him in the hall," Rinoa confessed. _The champagne must've been getting to me, _she thought.She didn't normally tell total strangers her business. In fact, she didn't normally talk so much with anyone. Of course, it was more from lack of opportunity than anything else. Rinoa had grown up very sheltered, and she didn't even _have_ any close girlfriends.

"He's really bent outta shape right now. I'm sure he'll get over it. He'd be an idiot to blow someone like _you_ off," the other girl continued, grinning.

"Thanks," Rinoa told her, and she meant it. "I'm Rinoa, by the way."

"Selphie," she replied, smiling.

Selphie -- Rinoa thought that the name fit her very well. She found herself thinking that Selphie could be a good friend, under different circumstances.

"Whoa, Selphie, who's your friend?" A cute blond guy with an interesting tribal tattoo on the left side of his face sauntered over. He, too, was wearing a SeeD uniform.

"This is Rinoa. Rinoa, this is Zell. Rinoa is a friend of Seifer's," Selphie said.

Zell made a face. "I see. Well, it was nice meeting you, Rinoa," he said, heading off across the dance floor.

"Wait," Rinoa said. She was completely baffled by this boy's strange behavior. "Something wrong?"

"Zell and Seifer aren't exactly what you'd call 'good friends'," Selphie explained.

"Oh," Rinoa said, unsure of what to do with that knowledge. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Zell said glumly. "Figures he'd have a girl like you." He turned to Selphie. "You seen Squall?"

Selphie shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's not here, either." She looked at Rinoa. "He's kind of anti-social," she confessed.

Rinoa just nodded, though she really had no idea what a "Squall" was and why it should matter to her if he was at the dance or not.

"So are you coming to Garden?" Zell asked, eyeing Rinoa warily.

Rinoa laughed heartily at that. "Me? A SeeD?" She was _barely_ cut out for the Forest Owls, truth be told. "No, no. I came as a client to see the Headmaster, and he invited me here. I thought I'd be able to spend some time with Seifer but ... Well." She waved her hand dismissively. "But you guys are nice!" She smiled warmly and wished for a moment that she could live in a place like this, with people her own age around all the time. Of course, her father never would have allowed it. Rinoa was far too "fragile" and "delicate", according to General Caraway. She hated those words.

She hated even more that they were true. She wanted _so much _for someone to see her as strong and capable. But she feared that no one ever would. Even Seifer handled her with kid gloves. Like she was some kind of porcelain doll that might shatter if shaken.

The band started playing a lively tune that Rinoa loved, and it pulled her out of her rumination immediately. "Do you dance, Zell?" She cocked her head toward the dance floor.

"Right," Zell snorted. "Seifer's got eyes everywhere. If word got back to him that I was dancing with his girl ..." Zell shook his head. "Sorry, I gotta go. Selphie?"

Selphie smiled apologetically. "Later! It was nice to meet you!"

"Likewise," Rinoa said, and then sighed. She'd been so happy less than an hour ago -- and now everything seemed to be going wrong. Seifer didn't want to talk to her for whatever reason. That was fine. It had been several months since anything had … well, since they'd been "together", and people were bound to move on. Not a big deal. But it hurt her, nonetheless. And it also pained her that people here who seemed perfectly nice didn't want to talk to her _because _of Seifer. It seemed like maybe she'd been wrong in her assessment of the green-eyed boy from last summer. Maybe he wasn't Prince Charming after all.

Chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully, she glanced up to look at the stars through the dome. They always made her think of her mother. Julia Heartilly had loved the night sky. She told Rinoa that it inspired her. Rinoa had never really understood her when she was younger, but now, standing here, she realized that she finally got it. There was magic in the stars, magic just waiting for her to reach up and grab it. If only she dared.

Suddenly a shooting star streaked across the sky. She quickly reached up to the ring around her neck, and made a wish. She had wished for many things over the years, but tonight … tonight she wished for one thing. The truth. _Her_ truth. She followed the path of the star with her gaze.

And that's when she saw him. And all the electricity and energy that had been building up around her seemed to spark, the moment her eyes fell on him.

He was tall and brooding, dark hair falling in his face. He stood all by himself at the wall, a glass of champagne in his hand. He was also watching the star.

Rinoa made eye contact with him, smiled a little, and pointed up. He tilted his head slightly, almost uninterestedly. His attitude seemed to say, "...Whatever." Rinoa shook her head, giggling slightly to herself. She thought that he was entirely to cute to be standing alone, so she walked over to him. She hated missed opportunities, and if she didn't say something to this boy, she knew it would haunt her for a very long time.

But the closer she got to him, the harder her heart pounded. Something about him felt almost magnetic to her. She didn't understand, couldn't even begin to grasp what was going on, but she knew in her heart, her blood, her very _bones_, that she had to _get to him_.

When she reached him, she smiled coyly, and considered her target. He was standing there, looking at her. Not expectantly, oh no. Rather, he looked quite bored. Rinoa bit her lip, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, butterflies wreaking havoc in her gut. _Why does this matter to me so much? _she wondered briefly. Sighing, she grinned even wider at him, flashing her teeth. "You are the best-looking guy here," she said, and prayed he didn't laugh in her face. "Dance with me?"

He looked up at her and she nearly gasped out loud. He had the most stunningly cool blue eyes she had ever seen. And his face … Mysterious. Dangerous. _Insanely _hot.

So why were there chills running down her spine?

xXx

Squall considered the girl standing before him. He was shocked that she'd even approached him at all, truth be told. Most times, his off-putting attitude made people keep a wide berth around him. He preferred it that way.

But this girl … well, it didn't matter what he thought about her. He wasn't _about_ to dance with her. Not that she wasn't pretty, because she was. All pale skin and dark hair and _quite _the smile. The fact remained though, that he didn't even want to be at this stupid party, and he wasn't about to go out on the floor and _dance_. People would see him, and he _hated_ being looked at.

The girl smiled again, and Squall fought off the urge to just walk away. She was so … eager and earnest. _Go away_, he grumbled in his head.

"Oh, I see," she teased, a playful glint in her dark eyes. "You'll only dance with someone that you like." She looked him squarely in the eyes this time, and he swore for a second, his heart stopped. "You're going to like me, you're going to like me. Did it work?" she asked hopefully.

"I don't dance," he said bluntly.

She sighed. "Oh, come on. I've been looking for someone -- I can't dance by myself. " She reached out and grabbed his hand. The charge that went through him the moment her hand touched his was enough to nearly floor him. It struck him so suddenly, that before he realized what was happening, she had already dragged him out to the middle of the floor.

He glowered at her once he regained his bearings. She pouted at him. "Oh, come on," she teased him good-naturedly as she positioned his hands for him. "I don't bite. Much." She winked at him and his breath caught in his throat. He was struck by the strange notion that they seemed to fit nicely together.

Oh, yeah, he _really _needed to get away from this girl.

It was then that she turned her head. He caught the faint whiff of lavender and vanilla coming from her hair, and he suddenly couldn't remember how his feet were supposed to work. There was no way he could've gone anywhere without falling all over himself like a total moron.

As it turned out, though, looking like a moron was apparently in his stars that night. He stepped on her feet (and was sure he heard them crunch a time or two, much to his supreme humiliation). "Sorry." He mumbled that _a lot_, he realized, feeling more the dolt with every passing second. "Sorry, sorry. Oh, sorry!"

But the high point came when he tripped on his _own feet _and fell into her, which caused them to collide with another pair of dancers.

"Watch it!" the guy barked while his partner glared at them menacingly.

"Oh, calm down, meanies," Squall's partner shot back, wrinkling up her nose at them. Then she looked at Squall and smiled reassuringly.

Of course, to him, it was patronizing. Squall _hated_ to be patronized, and he was not going to continue to stand out here and be humiliated in front of the entire Garden _and_ the strange, fascinating girl in front of him. "This is stupid," he said, and started to take off.

"Oh, no you don't," she said. She caught him by the arm and dragged him back. "You can't abandon a girl on the dance floor. It's rude. It's okay that you suck. It's kinda cute, really." She giggled.

Suddenly, all the tortuous training that Squall had undergone over the past ten years came back to him. Oh, no, he wasn't going to be embarrassed like this. SeeDs were _trained _to be able to handle anything. A dance was _nothing _compared to the horrors he would face daily from now on.

A strange light flashed in his eyes and she gasped as he grabbed her around the waist and began leading her through the intricate steps of the dance. Soon, they were spinning around the floor as though it's what they'd been born to do.

He spun her back into him, and as their bodies were flush, she laughed warmly. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of raw male satisfaction, as she was so obviously impressed by his moves.

The final notes of the song played, and he twirled her out, and then back in again so that their faces were just a breath away from one another for a split second before they spun once more and ended up holding each other loosely, palm to palm, while a gorgeous array of fireworks exploded overhead.

"Wow!" she breathed, beaming at him. "That was -- awesome!" She caught herself and her smile faltered when she noticed how he was looking at her. He couldn't help it, they were both breathing harder than they had been, standing so close that they could feel each other's heartbeats … and she _was _pretty. He actually found that he was loathe to release her, so he kept his hand about her waist, while the fingers of his other hand began to curl, ever so hesitantly, around her hand.

To her credit, she didn't look away, either. They stood there, watching the other watching them, for what seemed to be an eternity. It was really only a few seconds, but in that few seconds … everything changed.

The Knight had met his Sorceress for the first time, unbeknownst to them both.

xXx

He started to say something to Rinoa then, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, she saw Seifer looking at them from the door. He didn't look thrilled.

"I'm really sorry. I have to go now. But thank you for the dance!" She pulled away and headed for the door.

As she walked away from him, her heart felt heavy, and every step seemed to be a trial. She was going to see Seifer -- she should be happy, ecstatic, even.

So why did she care more about the fact that _his_ eyes were on her as she walked away?


	2. Not Quite a Faery Tale

**A/N: **In-game. When Rinoa falls into a coma, Squall comes to an unexpected realization. (My explanation of Squall's seemingly out-of-nowhere change of heart.) Rated T for language.

**Not Quite a Faery Tale**  
**(Prompt: Discovery)**

Squall angrily tossed his jacket across the room and sat down on the edge of his bed heavily. He massaged his temples as he thought over how truly fucked the past forty-eight hours had been.

Matron … she'd been under the control of an evil Sorceress this whole time. Part of him was relieved; now they knew it hadn't really been their _Matron_, the woman who had raised them, trying to kill them.

Of course, that meant that there was some crazy psycho from the future on the loose, taking over people's bodies at random, hell-bent on world domination.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

But as messed up as all that was, and boy, was it ever _messed up_, he couldn't help it -- his mind kept wandering.

_Rinoa …_

What the hell had happened to her. One second, she'd been standing beside him as they fought Matron -- _Ultimecia_. The next, she'd …

Well, she'd just sort of … wandered off.

Toward _Seifer_, of all the fucking people. Squall's gut knotted at the memory of her kneeling over Seifer, brushing the hair off his brow gently. Squall had barely been able to yell out her name before she'd …

Well, she'd fucking _kissed_ the bastard. Right on his stupid, cocky lips.

At that moment, Squall had felt as though he'd been sucker-punched, right in the solar plexus. He honestly couldn't remember ever feeling worse than he did at that moment, but what he didn't understand was _why_. It wasn't like it was some big secret that Seifer and Rinoa had a past.

But that was just it, wasn't it? It was supposed to be _past_. And he'd _thought_ -- well, hadn't she … kinda … liked _him_?

_Whatever,_ he thought, disgusted with himself. _What do I care? _With a groan, he realized he obviously cared more than he was willing to admit.

At the time, the sight of her embracing Seifer had shocked him so badly that he hadn't been able to think or _do_ anything at all. Now, the mental image of it that kept replaying over and over in his head made him physically ill. It also kind of made him want to break shit. _Like Seifer's face._

With a snarl, he stood up and grabbed his gunblade, and then headed for the training center. He ran into Zell on the way.

"Yo, Squall," he said, more subdued than Squall had ever seen him. "Rinoa's in the infirmary now, just so you know."

"She awake yet?" Zell shook his head sadly. "Damn it," Squall cursed. Zell just looked down at the floor.

Squall knew that Zell was quite fond of Rinoa; she might just be the only person on the planet who actually took him seriously. He knew that Rinoa had a gigantic soft-spot for the blond martial-artist, as well. He'd seen the two of them, giggling over whatever inconsequential thing had set them off at any given moment, on more occasions than he could remember. Rinoa constantly referred to Zell as her "bro", which was ridiculous, but endearing at the same time.

She really had a thing for lost causes.

"So what the hell happened back there, anyway?" Zell asked.

"No idea," Squall said, not really in the mood for idle chitchat … or any kind of chitchat, truth be told. He was pissed off and tired and wired, all at the same time, and it _sucked_.

"That's all you have to say?" Zell retorted sharply. He shook his head, clearly disappointed in Squall. "You really should go see her, man. She probably wants to hear your voice."

Squall looked at Zell, utterly dumbfounded by that remark. Why would she want _that_? "Think you have me confused with Seifer," he sneered. "Scar's the same, though, nice try."

Zell glared at him. "You really are a dumbass," he said icily. "Look, man, something _huge_ happened back there …"

"Yeah, I don't need a play-by-play, thanks," Squall snapped. "I'm pretty sure I saw it all … right down to the part where _she betrayed us_."

"Oh, that is such crap, Squall. Do you really believe that?"

"You saw her … she went to Seifer after the fight," Squall said.

"You get that that was _not_ Rinoa, right? Man, _trust_ me. That was _not _her."

Squall narrowed his eyes at Zell. "Whatever," he said, adjusting the gunblade on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter anyway." He began walking away, but Zell's voice followed him.

"You know, instead of sulking like a four-year-old who lost his favorite toy, maybe you should ask yourself _why_ you're so pissed off! Might be an enlightening experience!"

Squall only paused for a second, and then he continued on to the training center. Zell really needed to learn when to shut the fuck up. But even so, Squall couldn't stop thinking about his words.

Not even when the monsters began to converge on him. "So why am I so pissed off?" he asked the first Grat to cross his path. "I'll tell you why! First of all," he swiped at the Grat with his gunblade, and then deflected the plant-creature's counterattack. "Nothing makes sense any more. This sorceress shit is _insane_." He lunged at the beast and struck a killing blow.

Immediately, two more Grats waddled up. Squall grinned wickedly, the battle already making him feel better. "And also -- _who_ does she think she is? Was this part of Seifer's plan all along? Is she some kind of _spy_?" He finished off the two Grats and sighed. "If she _was_, then, well-played, Seifer," he said sadly. "She was -- perfect."

_Oh, great,_ he thought to himself. _Now I'm talking to monsters. What next? Are Laguna's faeries going to visit me?_

"Damn it," he muttered to himself, as his thoughts drifted back to Rinoa. _Why_ couldn't he stop thinking about her? She was an annoying brat! But … she was also silly, charming, and completely beguiling. Fuck it all if he hadn't started saying things here of late with the sole intention of making her giggle. Her laugh was -- well, it didn't matter.

Except that it _did_, and that pissed him off more than anything.

He thought of how she had looked the night he'd become a SeeD.

_You are the best-looking guy here. Dance with me?_

He'd been intrigued by her then, but he never thought he'd see her again.

But of course, he _had_ seen her again. In Timber, where he supposed this whole crazy mess had started. She had hugged him _so tight_ upon that second (first) meeting. She had been so exuberant and lively, full of hope and promise.

_You're here! SeeD is here!_

Now she wasn't full of anything. Now she was just … broken.

And then there were her _jokes_, which were quite possibly the most awful things he'd ever heard in his life. But now he understood. She was only trying to keep everyone's spirits up, no matter how dire the situation. And making fun of her absolutely _ridiculous _attempts at humor did just that.

_Hey, guys! Why did the chicken cross the playground? Give up? Okay, I'll tell you! To get to the other SLIDE!_

She was such a dork.

And she certainly wasn't shy about telling _him_ exactly what she thought of him. Which, obviously, wasn't much.

_Oh, you're just a GREAT leader, aren't you? Do you actually have fun being so callous to your comrades? Squall! Are you listening to me?_

He glowered. She was always making fun of him for being too serious, too uptight, too _mean_. But there were times, when it seemed more like she was _teasing_ him good-naturedly, not insulting him. Maybe even … flirting?

_You know, when you're thinking really hard, your face looks like this._

According to Irvine and Selphie, she did a killer impersonation of him, too. He didn't know if this was a good or bad thing.

He took out a few more Grats and continued walking, looking for something else to maim. At some point as he was walking, he realized something else. Lately, he'd begun to look to her _first_ whenever they were out anywhere, whether they were fighting, or just exploring a new location. She always had _something_ to say -- whether it was advice, or reassurance, or even just her telling him he was being ridiculous again.

Stupid. He wasn't supposed to let himself depend on anyone. Hadn't he learned that by now? And yet -- every time Rinoa cast an errant glance his way, he _felt_ it. He felt a strange sort of pride within him when he watched her on the battlefield -- she had come so far since they'd first met.

And he would never, not in a _billion years_ admit it, but he loved it when she pulled him aside after each and every battle, checking him for any wounds and passing a Cura spell over him whether he needed it or not. She would always brush her fingertips lightly over the scar on his forehead. "Oops, missed one," she'd say with a grin, casting the spell. It was nice -- if you weren't hurt, Cura was a pleasant, tingly feeling that coursed through your veins for several minutes. She would wink and say, "All better!"

Lately, he'd been noticing that just being around _her_ gave him the same feeling, amplified about a hundred-fold.

The fuck was wrong with him? He turned around after beating his way through several more Grats and Bite Bugs, realizing that he'd already been in the training center for over an hour.

And the whole time, he'd been thinking about _her_. The one thing he'd been trying to forget by coming here.

Realization dawned on him at that moment, and it was the same tingly feeling he got from Cura, or from Rinoa herself. _Oh, shit,_ he thought to himself.

"I'm in love with her."

He turned and all but sprinted from the training center and headed straight for the infirmary. He was out of breath and completely soaked with sweat by the time he got there. Dr. Kadowaki gaped at him.

"Squall?" she asked, her voice full of concern. "Are you sick?"

"N-No," he huffed, hands on his knees, head down, as he tried to allow his breath and heartbeat to return to normal. "Rinoa," he said. "Is she here?"

The doctor pointed to the back room, and Squall nodded his thanks.

Not knowing what to expect, he pulled back the curtain. He froze. She was just -- lying there. Pale, seemingly lifeless. "Rinoa," he breathed, going to her side.

He dropped to his knees beside the bed, and took her hand in his. It was like ice. It was_ wrong_. Rinoa's hands had always been so warm …

"Hey, Rin," he said softly. "I'm here now, so you can go ahead and wake up." Well, it was worth a shot.

Nothing. No movement, no flickering of an eyelid -- Hyne, was she even _breathing_? Without even thinking about it, he leaned over and rested his head on her chest.

Her heart was still beating, thank Hyne. But she was so _cold_. Blankets! She needed more blankets. He stood up and looked around the room frantically. He finally found a blanket on the top shelf of the grey metal cabinet in the corner of the room. He unfolded it and placed it gingerly around her body.

Still nothing. "Damn it," he cursed. "Wake up, Rinoa!" _Yeah, that's great, Leonhart. Yell at the girl in the coma. _"Please," he amended imploringly. He went back to his knees. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry this happened to you," he whispered. He felt something pricking the backs of his eyes then.

Oh, fuck no. No, he wasn't going to cry _now_. Of all the stupid …

Stupid. That was the key word, wasn't it? He had been the stupidest idiot on the planet. And now … _she_ was paying for it.

"_Please_," he said to her, hating the fact that he was practically begging. But what else could he _do_? "I just … I need to hear your voice. Rinoa. Wake up. Tell me it's going to be all right. I'll believe you, you know. I always do, even though I don't say so."

He looked back at her, and immediately the image of Sleeping Beauty from all those childhood stories came to his mind.

It was ridiculous, and he couldn't even believe that he was thinking about it … but it always worked in the old stories, didn't it? She just … needed a kiss, and she'd wake up, right?

Feeling more nervous than he'd ever felt in his life, he leaned forward, bringing his face closer to hers. He half expected her to wake up and laugh at him. But she was still as a statue and his lips inched ever closer to hers. "Wake up, please," he whispered a split second before his lips brushed over hers tentatively.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. _Oh, Hyne, _he thought, _don't let it be Irvine, don't let it be Irvine, don't let it be Irvine …_ He knew the cowboy would never let him live it down if he had witnessed that, and the first thing he would do was run and tell Selphie.

Who would tell the entire Garden.

_Fuck._

He turned around, preparing for the worst, and saw Quistis standing there. She had a small, sad smile on her face. "I'm sorry, Squall," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

Squall just shook his head, embarrassment creeping up over him. "Whatever," he said flippantly, standing up.

"Um, I just wanted to tell you … we're at Matron's. So whenever you're ready, we'll go and talk to her," Quistis said. Her eyes flitted over to Rinoa. "I'm sorry," she said, and Squall didn't know if she was talking to him or to Rinoa. She turned back to Squall and gave him a wavering grin. "You know, that was a good idea."

Squall knew what she meant, and he shrugged. "Had to try something," he mumbled, not looking at his friend.

Quistis looked thoughtful for a moment, as if she had just realized something. "She'll be all right," she told Squall then, and then she left.

Squall turned back to Rinoa. "I have to go," he said to her, brushing the hair off her forehead. "But I'll be back soon. Promise."


	3. Strange Love

**A/N: **Post-game. Silly, fluffy little piece. Rated K+

**Strange Love  
****(Prompt: Romance)**

Rinoa sat in Balamb Garden's cafeteria early on a bright Monday morning in March, reading the romance novel she had just recently checked out from Garden's extensive library. True, it wasn't the most _literary_ of choices … but she figured that a little escapism never hurt anyone. She was only killing time until Squall showed up, any way.

Besides. It wasn't as though her own life were brimming full of romance. And, being a romantic at heart, she had to get her fix _somewhere_.

Not that Squall wasn't wonderful. Because he was. Wonderful, intelligent, handsome, honest, earnest, and yes, even funny -- but romantic? Romantic he was _not_.

It wasn't as though it was some big surprise, though. Not like, after months of false pretenses, he'd just one day let his true colors show and become an un-romantic lout. No, Rinoa had known what she was in for _long_ before they'd even officially started dating.

Just because she secretly wished for him to sweep her up into his arms and kiss her senseless sometimes -- regardless of who was watching -- didn't mean she didn't appreciate him for what he was. She'd fallen in love with who he was, and changing him was _not_ on her agenda.

With a sigh, she placed a bookmark in her novel, and looked up to the doorway just in time to see Irvine and Selphie enter, arms slung about each other's shoulders, Irvine's hat perched on Selphie's head. Perfectly comfortable and natural.

Rinoa smiled wistfully. Getting Squall to even hold her hand in public was difficult. Irvine and Selphie definitely didn't have that problem -- this _was _the couple who'd gotten caught making out in one of the classrooms just a few weeks earlier, after all.

Rinoa giggled at the memory -- Selphie had looked sheepish, but not a bit repentant, and Irvine … well, Irvine had looked pleased as punch with himself. Squall had berated them for a good fifteen minutes about propriety and code of conduct.

"What's so funny?" Squall said, as he approached the table, a tray full of breakfast food. He handed her a cup of coffee -- cream and two sugars, just like she liked it -- and a strawberry and cream cheese danish, her favorite. She smiled at the way he knew exactly what she wanted, without having to ask.

"Nothing," she said quietly, taking a sip of her coffee.

He shrugged and sat down across from her. "Whatever. You're weird today."

"You just got here!" she protested. "How would you know if I'm weird or not?"

He looked at her pointedly. "You're you." As if that explained everything.

She smacked him on the arm playfully. "You're not funny."

"Sure I am," he said, grinning wickedly.

Rinoa turned her attention back to her breakfast. "I wasn't even going to eat breakfast today," she told him. "All it does is slow me down during training. And I think I'm getting fat."

"Rin," Squall said firmly. "You have to eat, or else you'll pass out." He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "And you are not fat." He kicked her leg under the table gently.

"If you say so," Rinoa said dubiously, but she took a big bite out of her danish anyway. "Mmm, heaven." She closed her eyes and savored the taste of the pastry on her tongue.

Squall shook his head as he watched her. "You get more enjoyment out of food than anyone I've ever seen, save Zell."'

"Why not? Food is _meant_ to be enjoyed, isn't it?"

"If you say so," Squall replied. "It's just a way to stay energized, really."

"Oh, is it? Then why do you always get the chocolate éclair, huh?" She quirked her eyebrow at him. "Interesting choice of fuel, Commander. Well, if you don't really care, I guess I'll just take that off your hands for you …" She reached across the table for his éclair.

He pulled the tray closer to him possessively. "Don't you dare, Heartilly," he said warningly, "or I'll slap you with detention for insubordination. And theft of personal property."

"That's abuse of power," she retorted. "And you wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?" The look in his eyes dared her to challenge him.

Rinoa couldn't resist. Eyes twinkling merrily, she reached over and snatched the pastry off his plate and stuffed the entire thing in her mouth.

The look on Squall's face was priceless. He looked shocked, and then completely appalled, and then … something else. Rinoa wasn't quite sure what it was. She'd never seen this particular look on his face before.

His eyes were deadly serious as he looked at her, and he reached across the table and took her hand in his. "Hyne, I love you," he said quietly.

Rinoa's eyes grew so large that they were like to pop out of her head, and she swallowed the majority of the pastry in one painful gulp. He'd never said that before! And for him to say it _now_, after she'd stolen his breakfast and stuffed it into her face like some kind of cretin … Maybe she was going to have to rethink her idea of what romance really was. Because this?

This felt pretty damn good.

_Way better than making out in a classroom and getting caught,_ she reasoned to herself. She glanced over at Irvine and Selphie, and noticed that they were arguing -- again. Selphie threw Irvine's hat at him and stormed out of the cafeteria, yelling over her shoulder at the dumbfounded cowboy.

But Squall's hand was still covering hers, and he was looking at her with such earnestness that it made her heart swell.

"I love you, too," she whispered, smiling so wide she thought her cheeks would break.

It wasn't what every little girl dreamed about ... but it was simple, really. He knew her, better than anyone else, and in spite of all her faults and quirks and eccentricities ... _he loved her_.

And that made this the best love story of all. Because it was _hers_.


	4. Rinoa Has the Best Ideas

**A/N:** Yeah, this one's definitely rated M. ;) If you look at the prompt word for it, you will understand why. Warnings for, obviously, masturbation (_not_ explicit), both male and female. (I DON'T MAKE THE PROMPTS, YOU GUYS, I JUST WRITE THE FICS!) I'm actually quite pleased with this one, to be totally honest with you.

**Rinoa Has the Best Ideas  
****(Prompt: Self-Love)**

Squall waited impatiently after dialing Rinoa's cell phone number, his own phone pressed to his ear like some kind of lifeline, as it rang three times, four, five … He was about to hang up, and cursed his bad timing, yet again.

He'd been away from Balamb for nearly two months now, and he hadn't talked to Rinoa in almost two weeks. They just seemed to keep missing each other. Just as the he was about to call this attempt a loss, he heard the distinctive _click _of someone answering.

"Hello?" She sounded out of breath, like she'd been running.

"Hey, Rin," he said, feeling somewhat lost. He hadn't talked to her in so long … and the sound of her voice made him miss her even more.

"Squall!" she cried happily. "Oh, I'm so glad it's you. How are you?"

"I'm …" he considered being flippant and distant, but he knew she would be able to tell. "I'm … okay, I guess," he finally said.

"Oh, my poor baby. I think you're working too hard," she said kindly. "I miss you," she added, and he smiled.

"Miss you too," he told her. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh, you know," she said coyly, "a little of this, a little of that … the same as usual. Training is _brutal_. Seifer really sucks as an instructor." Squall made a face at that, glad that she couldn't see him. Chances were good she'd tease him about being jealous or something. "I'm really glad I got to the phone in time, though," she continued. I was in the shower, and I didn't hear it at first."

Squall's body reacted to that casual statement almost violently. He really _had _been away for too long, when all it took was the mere mention of Rinoa in the shower to make him hard.

"Squall?" Rinoa's voice broke into his thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied. He wasn't fine.

Suddenly she giggled. "You know what's funny? Okay, maybe not _funny_. But … well, I told you how I had to run to get to the phone right? I'm dripping water all over your floor. I didn't even have time to grab a towel." He could hear the pout in her voice, and he wondered if she was torturing him on purpose. Maybe this was some kind of punishment for being gone so long?

Then something dawned him. "Wait. Did you say _my_ floor?" he croaked.

"Well, yeah," Rinoa said breezily. "I'm in your room. I miss you … Oh, Hyne, you're not going to make me pay a cleaning deposit or something, are you? "

"So, you're in my room … naked … and wet … are you _trying _to kill me?"

Rinoa gasped a little, though Squall didn't understand _why_. And then there was silence on her end of the line. He heard a creak in the background, and imagined that she had just sat down on the bed -- on _his_ bed. He almost whimpered at the mental image.

"Oh, no, not trying to kill you," she finally said, her voice about an octave lower and breathier.

"Could've fooled me," he said with a mirthless laugh.

He heard her inhale sharply, and he quirked his eyebrows. "Rin?"

"Mmm?" she asked.

"Is … everything all right?"

"Oh, yeah, it's just … yeah, it's _great_," she cooed. "I wish … you were here … with me. The bed is so … big without you."

"I wish I was there, too," he told her, resting his forehead on the wall in front him, wanting to put his head through it in sheer frustration.

"What would you do, if you were here?" she asked, her voice still low and husky.

"Rin," Squall said warningly.

"Come on, Squall!" Rinoa said, frustration evident in her voice. "You have no problem actually _doing_ things with me … why can't you say the words?"

"Because," Squall said, uncomfortably. "It's _weird_."

He heard Rinoa stifled a giggle. "Is it?" she asked. "Because if you were here, I'd let you tie me to the bedpost again … remember that time?"

Oh, yeah, Squall definitely remembered that time, he remembered it very well. They had gotten a little tipsy at Selphie's birthday party last year, and when they'd gotten back to his room, she had playfully suggested a new use for his belts. At first, he thought she'd been off her rocker, but it turned out, as Rinoa's seemingly crazy ideas often did, to be a _very good idea_.

"Squall?" Rinoa said after several minutes had passed while Squall had remembered that night. "I asked if you remembered the time when you …"

"Yeah," Squall cut her off, his voice strained. "Yeah, I remember it."

"Oooh, you know what? If you were here right now, I think _I'd _be tying _you_ up this time," Rinoa breathed. "To keep you in one place for a little while. And then I'd …"

Squall's eyes glassed over as she described, in _great_ detail, what exactly she would do next. Against his will, he moaned as he listened to her talk in that low, breathy voice she seemed to have perfected over the past month or so. She must've planned this … she was always doing things that took him by surprise.

This time, however, she was driving him crazy. "Rinoa," he hissed.

"Oh, Squall," she moaned in response. He heard her breathing speed up, and suddenly he knew _exactly_ what she was doing on the other end of the line.

"Rinoa," he growled.

"Oh, gods," Rinoa sighed heavily in his ear. He swore he could feel her breath tickling his earlobe, and wondered if she hadn't pulled some kind of Sorceress-whammy on the phone line. He wondered if she could actually _do _that …

_To hell with it_, he thought, sucking in a deep breath. He lay down on his hotel bed, undid his fly, and listened to the sounds Rinoa was making. She continued to torture him with her words, reminding him of some of their past encounters. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he told her, in no uncertain terms, what he had in store for her when he got back to Balamb.

She cried out then, and he imagined her back arching up like it did every time she came underneath him. She keened out his name, and that was all he needed.

He could _hear_ the smug satisfaction in her voice now. "Feeling better now?" she asked him slyly.

"You always do have the best ideas," he admitted with a wry chuckle. He imagined she was preening at the compliment. "I really do miss you," he finally said, a small smile on his lips.

"Then you better come home soon," Rinoa told him teasingly. "And you better be _well­-_rested when you get here."

He laughed then. "Oh, I love you, Rin," he said.

"Love you, too, Squally," she said cheerily, using the name she knew he despised. Tonight, however, it just didn't bother him.

Rinoa really did have the best ideas.


	5. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

**A/N: **Another one rated M. Post-game, lemon. Enjoy!

**Absence Makes the … **_**Heart **_**… Grow Fonder  
****(Prompt: Passion)**

Squall opened the door to his room, after returning home from a month-long mission in Trabia, and saw Rinoa sitting cross-legged on the floor, reading a book. She looked up when she heard the door open, and smiled when she saw him. "You're back!" she said brightly, jumping up. She ran to his arms, and was completely taken aback when he crushed his mouth down on hers.

"Mmmph, Squall," she murmured against his lips. He deepened the kiss then, and Rinoa forgot what she had been about to say; felt her knees grow weak as his lips and tongue worked magic on her. He pulled back to look at her, a small half-smirk on his lips. "So, I take it you missed me?" Rinoa asked breathlessly. She very rarely saw him this worked up. She couldn't lie, though, she liked it when he took charge like this.

"Don't think 'missed you' quite covers it," Squall said, his voice hoarse, his blue eyes boring into hers. "One month is too long." He pulled her back toward him and kissed her again.

She gasped as Squall then spun her around and pinned her against the wall. His breath was heavy and warm against her neck. He growled low in his throat as he nipped at her skin in a line from her jawline to her ear.

She pulled his t-shirt off over his head, and her hands ran over his torso greedily. Though it was nothing new to either of them, it _felt_ different tonight, for some reason.

Wanting Rinoa with great passion was nothing new to him at all … but tonight, he was like a man possessed. He simply _had _to have her; he felt as though he might die if he didn't. Judging by the way she had reacted to the brush of his hand against the nape of her neck while they had been watching movies with their friends earlier, it seemed that she was feeling the same way.

He pinned her hands above her head with one of his own, while his other hand slid up under her skirt and moved her lacy undergarments aside impatiently. She hissed in pleasure as his fingers plunged into her, and she wrapped one leg around her waist to better facilitate his machinations. He knew _exactly _how to touch her, after all this time together. It was the most glorious thing, to know someone so intimately that pleasuring them was just second nature.

"Squall," she whimpered. "Let me touch you."

"Not until you …" He trailed off, flicking his thumb over her most sensitive spot, smiling with raw satisfaction when he felt her shudder against him. She cried out, and he leaned forward then, capturing her mouth with his own.

He released her arms, and she let her hands roam his well-muscled back and upper arms while he kissed her senseless. His tongue slid over hers, and she quivered and let out a sigh.

His hands slid down her shoulders and to the zipper on the back of her dress. In one fluid movement, he had the dress off of her, and he stood back to look at her. Her lingerie was new, or at least, _he _had never seen it before, and the pale blue color set off her creamy skin and dark hair to perfection.

Not for the first time, Squall wondered how he had managed to get so lucky. How someone like Rinoa had managed to come into his life and change him so completely … and to _love him_ … it never ceased to amaze him.

"You're beautiful, Rin," he told her breathlessly, gathering her into his arms and carrying her to the bed. He laid her back against the pillows, her hair fanning out behind her as she looked up at him with glassy adoration. She brushed his hair back from his forehead and smiled.

"So are you," she whispered, leaning up to kiss him. She went to her knees on the bed, and pulled him up with her. He welcomed the kiss, and when her hands reached down and undid the fly on his trousers and released him, he gasped in pleasure. "My beautiful Squall," she continued as she stroked him. Her tongue slid against his, mimicking the movement of her hand on him. She loved to feel him tremble in her arms as she touched him.

Finally, he could stand the torture no longer, and he pushed her back against the pillows, covering her body with his. He tore her lacy undergarments off, and then, capturing her mouth with his, buried himself in her.

She arched up against him, urging him to go deeper. She wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust her hips against his in a steady rhythm. He was hitting just the right spot within her, and in a blinding explosion, she came again in his arms, crying out his name.

He felt her tightening around him and didn't even try to fight it any longer. He came almost _violently_, a guttural sound escaping from his throat as he fell against her, completely spent.

"No more missions for a while, huh?" Rinoa joked, trying to catch her breath. "You're going to kill me if that's how you plan on behaving from now on every time you get home."

His arms tightened around her waist and he nuzzled her neck. "Love you, Rin," he said sleepily.

Rinoa smiled as she listened to his breathing slow down and even out, feeling as content as she ever had.

Perhaps the guy who'd said "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" hadn't been _too _far off …


	6. If At First You Don't Succeed

**A/N: **A sort of silly one this time around. Squall has never had to deal with the whole "girlfriend's birthday" thing -- not until Rinoa's 18th, that is. ;) Rated K+.

**If At First You Don't Succeed  
(Prompt: Failure)**

"Oh, my Hyne, Rin, _please_ tell me you are joking!" Selphie screeched as she, Quistis, and Rinoa sat around Rinoa's room on the afternoon of March 3rd -- Rinoa's eighteenth birthday. Earlier that day, Squall had presented her with a gift.

Rinoa smiled at the memory. He'd been so _cute_ about it; it was obvious he was completely out of his element. She had eagerly torn into the wrapping paper (which looked as though it'd been done professionally -- Squall had quite the hidden talent, it seemed), and had found "The Beginner's Guide to Triple Triad".

She had had to try _really_ hard to mask her amusement and disappointment. Her first thought had been that it was some kind of joke. But one look at his face had quickly dashed those hopes. He really seemed so _serious_ about the whole thing. So she had smiled at him, given him a kiss, and thanked him profusely.

But they were _really_ going to have to have a talk.

She looked back at Selphie, who was lying on the floor. She was laughing so hard, tears were pouring out of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Rin," she gasped. "I'm … so … sorry."

Quistis, for her part, was sitting on the edge of Rinoa's bed, shaking her head sadly. "Really. I thought he was more astute than that," she remarked. "Oh, look," she said, reading the cover of the offending book, which was currently sitting in the middle of Rinoa's bed. "It comes with a free deck of cards."

Selphie shrieked again. "Oh, it just gets better and better!" She sat up and pulled the book away from Quistis. "Oh, my … when was this thing written? These illustrations look _sooo_ dated. I mean, look at _this _guy. Nobody has worn pants like _that_ for at least twenty years." She held it up for everyone to see and Rinoa dropped her head into her hands and moaned.

"Guys, really, it's not … that … bad," Rinoa said lamely. The other girls looked at her in disbelief. "Okay, it is," she confessed. "But he was _so adorable _about the whole thing, you should've seen him."

"It's no excuse!" Selphie said, now poking at the book with her finger as though it might bite her. "What _idiot_ made him think this was a good idea? Or, I mean, do you think he came up with it all by himself?" She looked genuinely worried then.

"Oh, enough about the stupid book!" Rinoa said throwing up her hands in despair. "He's taking me to dinner tonight, that's nice, right?"

"Depends on where he's taking you," Quistis said, before she could stop herself. She covered her mouth and her eyes widened. "Sorry."

Rinoa felt her stomach drop. "Oh, Hyne."

"Where _is _he taking you?" Selphie asked.

"Umm … he didn't … say," Rinoa whispered. Suddenly visions of a "romantic" dinner in Garden's cafeteria danced in her mind. She looked at Quistis, her eyes wide with fright.

"I'll find out," Quistis said quickly, hopping up from the bed and heading to the door.

"Whatever you do, don't tell Seifer!" Rinoa cried as Quistis left. She turned to Selphie. "She's going to tell Seifer, isn't she?" Selphie just giggled. "Oh, hush," Rinoa shot at her. "Help me figure out what to wear tonight."

xXx

"You got her _what_?" Irvine asked, blinking at the Commander as though he was sure he'd misheard him. "No, really. You're joking, right?"

Squall looked down at his feet uncomfortably as he walked back from the training center with Irvine and Zell after their afternoon training session. "You _said_ to get her something personal. And Rinoa _likes_ books," he pointed out.

Irvine shook his head. "She does," he concurred. "But, like, _novels_, man. You know, the ones with plots, and characters, maybe a sex scene or two." He grinned wickedly. "I mean, really. When's the last time you saw her with a _training manual_?" He looked at Squall pointedly.

Squall didn't say anything for a long moment. "She said she liked it," he mumbled weakly.

"Of _course_ she did," Irvine responded. "Rinoa's a nice girl, and nice girls don't tell their boyfriends that their presents suck. Don't you know _anything_ about women, Squall?"

Squall remained silent. Apparently not.

"For once, I gotta agree with Kinneas," Zell piped up. He had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire exchange, and when Squall looked up at him, he saw why. The martial artist's shoulders were shaking with barely concealed glee. He cleared his throat and composed himself immediately, though, when he saw the murderous glare Squall was shooting his way.

"Whatever. She _said _she liked it, why would she lie to me?"

"Um, maybe to spare your feelings?" Zell said, as though he were talking to a five-year-old.

They had reached the hallway that led to the dorms, and they saw Quistis walking hurriedly toward them. The look she gave Squall was one of disappointment and pity, and he realized then that Irvine and Zell had been right. His stomach knotted up.

"Okay, so how do I fix this?" he asked them, suddenly worried.

"Relax," Quistis said when she reached them. She linked her arm through Squall's and led him away from the dorms. Overhearing Selphie's shrieking laughter was _not_ what he needed right now. She motioned for the other two boys to follow them. "Now. Where are you taking her for dinner?"

"That Italian place in Balamb that she likes," Squall said, and Quistis breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't _totally_ hopeless.

"Okay, that's good," Quistis said in her most teacher-like voice. She turned to Zell. "Did you ever finish the ring Rinoa asked you for?"

Zell's eyes lit up. "Yeah, I did," he said. "I was just waiting for a good time … This is a good time."

Quistis nodded. "Exactly. Can you go get it?"

Zell nodded and was off in a flash.

"Okay, what does Zell's ring have to do with anything?" Squall asked.

"Don't you remember? When she took Griever from you, it was because she liked it so much. And she asked Zell to make her one just like it. Now, tonight, at dinner, you can give it to her," Quistis explained.

Squall just nodded at that. Well, that was easy enough. And it made sense, too. "Okay. What else do I do?"

Quistis shook her head at him. "Nope. This is the best we can do for you. You've got to figure _something_ out on your own."

"Yup," Selphie's voice interjected as she bounded up to join them. "Otherwise, you're just stealing other people's answers!"

"I'm surprised you think I can pull anything off, after all the crap _you two_," Squall glared pointedly at Irvine and Zell, "have given me this afternoon."

"Squall. No offense, but you got her _The Beginner's Guide to Triple Triad_. And you were _serious_ about it." Irvine interjected with a pained expression on his face. "Just say thank you for the help we have given you, and go get ready for dinner."

Squall did the only thing that he could at that point, and that was to listen to his friends. He'd made a complete _ass_ of himself, apparently, and he really wanted to fix it. Rinoa … she deserved the best. She had put up with him for the past several months with little to no complaining. Trying to give her a memorable birthday -- in a _good _way -- was really the least he could do.

Now he just had to figure out _how to do that_. He'd obviously failed miserably with his first attempt.

Zell caught up to him before he could reach his own dorm, and handed him a ring that was identical to his own Griever, but much smaller and daintier -- perfect for Rinoa. "Thanks," he said.

"No prob!" Zell said cheerfully. He pulled his keycard out of his pocket and headed across the hallway to his own room.

Sudden inspiration struck Squall. "Hey …" he said, before Zell disappeared into his room. "You're good with computers … do you think you could help me with something else?"

Zell's brow furrowed. "Sure. What's up?"

Squall explained his plan to him, and Zell's face slowly broke into a wide smile. "Nice. No problem, I'm on it." He took off down the hallway, and Squall breathed a sigh of relief.

This would help. And this one … this one was all him.

xXx

An hour and a half later, there was a knock on Rinoa's door. She opened the door to see Squall, looking more nervous than she'd ever seen him. Her heart fluttered happily in her chest. He might be completely hopeless when it came to gift-giving, but it was okay. Just knowing that he cared about her was more than enough.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Yeah, just let me grab my sweater," she said. She got a light-weight white sweater from her closet and pulled it on over her pale purple sheath dress. She held out her hand for his. "Okay, let's go."

He surprised her by pulling her close to him and kissing her on the lips tenderly. She sank into him, let her fingers tangle in the hair at the nape of his neck. His hands splayed out across her back, underneath her sweater, as he pulled her flush against him, and he tentatively ran his tongue along her lips. She sighed, which was just the opening he'd been looking for, apparently. When his tongue slid across hers, she had to hold onto his shoulders just to stay upright. For a someone with as little experience as he had, the boy could kiss like no other. She'd been pleasantly surprised to discover that about him early on in their relationship.

They were still getting used to each other, even now, nearly five months later, still not sure how far to push before it was _too_ far. Lately, it had been getting harder and harder to make themselves stop. He was usually the first one to pull away, to try and maintain some semblance of composure, but tonight, he didn't seem to be in any hurry to stop kissing her. And she wasn't about to make him stop if he didn't want to. His hands moved from her back, up to her face, and he stroked her cheeks gently with the pads of his thumbs while he continued to kiss the living daylights out of her.

Finally, Rinoa couldn't take any more … she was ready to shove him back into her room and say "to hell with dinner", but she knew he'd _never_ go for that, so she put her hand on his chest and pushed him back slightly. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him, dazedly. "That was new," she breathed.

He shrugged and nuzzled her neck. "You look nice," he whispered in her ear, and her heart sped up when he pulled back and looked at her. There was dark blue fire in his eyes, and she knew what that look meant, _all too well_.

_Danger! Danger!_

Not that she really _minded_. But she was afraid of going there with _him. _Not because of him, no, he was _perfect _and she wanted him more than she'd wanted anything else in her whole life. But she was afraid, nonetheless.Afraid that they might go too fast, burning like a comet streaking across the sky, and then fizzle out somewhere along the line, and she didn't want that with him. Slow burns, those were better.She wanted to go slow, give themselves time for this -- they had plenty of time.

So she giggled to ease the tension. "Oh, I see. So I don't look nice enough to kiss like that any other time," she teased him, unable to resist. He made it so _easy_.

His face fell. "I didn't mean that …" he said, and he sounded terribly worried that he had just offended her in a grievous way.

She laughed and pulled his face down to hers, planting a loud _smack_ right on his lips with her own. "I was teasing you," she whispered, wrinkling up her nose. He looked relieved. "Let's go," she said. "I'm _starving_."

xXx

An hour later, they were sitting across from each other at a dimly lit booth in Giovanni's, Rinoa's favorite restaurant in Balamb. They had just finished their meals, and Rinoa began to stand up and pull her sweater back on.

"Hey, Rin," Squall said suddenly, and she looked at him. He motioned for her to sit back down, and she complied. "I'm sorry about … the stupid book," he said, his cheeks flaming.

Rinoa reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Squall, it's okay. It's the thought that counts, right?"

"It wasn't a very good thought," he muttered. "I just got nervous, I guess. I've never … done this before."

"I don't care about presents or fancy dinners, Squall. I just … I'm glad to spend the time with _you_, you know?"

He looked at her then, and there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Oh, so you don't want this, then?" He said, pulling small, rectangular box out of his jacket pocket. He shook it at her, and then shrugged, making to put it back in his pocket.

Her eyes widened. "Don't you dare!" she yelped, reaching for it. "Gimme!"

He laughed at her, and hoped she never changed. Her childlike wonder was one of the most fascinating things about her, one of the things he loved about her. "You know," she said as she opened the package, "you could have a very fulfilling career as a professional gift-wrapper."

She removed the last of the paper and found a small white box. Biting her lip anxiously, she pulled off the lid. Sitting on top of a bed of cotton was … Griever! Frowning, she reached up to the chain around her neck. No … it was still there. So this was …

"Oh, my gods!" she breathed. "He finished it!" She looked up and Squall and smiled. "And _you're_ giving it to me."

This meant … so much. When she'd first gotten Griever from him, it had been second-handedly, through Zell. Now, Zell had given the finished replica to Squall, who was giving it to _her_, for the first time. Blinking back her tears, she slid it onto her right ring finger. It fit perfectly. She unfastened her necklace and slid Squall's Griever off of it. She held out her palm, and Squall placed his hand in hers, and allowed her to place Griever back on his own right ring finger.

"Hmm," Rinoa said, casting a sly look at Squall. "You don't think anyone will get the wrong idea about us now, do you? That would be so crazy!"

He laughed as he remembered her saying almost those exact words to him shortly after she'd gotten Griever the first time. "There's more," he told her, motioning to the box.

"There's cotton," she replied.

He rolled his eyes. "Under the cotton, genius," he said drolly.

She stuck her tongue out at him and lifted up the cotton. On the bottom of the box was a thin plastic card. "Um," she said, lifting it up and looking at it. "It looks like … one of Garden's keycards."

"And?" Squall said, impatiently.

She looked back at it. "48-B … that's … oh, my …" Her eyes were wide as saucers when she looked up at him again. "Your room … this is the keycard to your room."

"Brilliant, you are," he joked, though he was starting to feel nervous all over again.

"How did you even manage to _get_ this? I thought the spares were all under lock and key in Cid's office?"

"Let's just say I know someone who can hack into the school's computer system," Squall said with a shrug. "Cid'll be none the wiser, he still has all of the keys he's supposed to have."

"You broke the rules for _me_?" Rinoa said, more touched than she really should be by this display of delinquency. She looked up at him coyly. "This is just an invitation for trouble, you know that, right?"

"Funny," Squall said, a mock-confused look on his face. "I thought it was an invitation for _Rinoa_."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Ha ha, you're so funny," she said sarcastically. Then she sighed. "Thank you," she said, feeling more tears pricking the backs of her eyes. "This is … it's perfect. I love you."

"Love you too, Rin," he said, squeezing her hand, pleased with the sound the two Grievers made when they clinked against each other. It was … comforting, and somehow fitting. He hoped that they would be clinking together for a very long time to come.

Gift-giving failures and all.


	7. The One About Happiness

**A/N: **Several years post-game. A bit of contentment on a truly momentous occasion. Rated K+.

**The One About Happiness  
(Prompt: Happiness)**

Closing her eyes, Rinoa ran her fingers through Squall's hair, smiling to herself in complete contentment. "I think we've been very rude," she told him. "After all the trouble everyone went to for us …"

"They understand," he growled, not lifting his head from her chest, completely spent from their recent escapade. "Besides. They should've known better than to throw us a big, stupid party."

"At least there was cake, right?" Rinoa giggled, thinking that some things would never change, no matter how long they were together. And they'd been together for five wonderful, crazy, tumultuous years, and they were still going strong.

Smiling, Rinoa held up her left hand, and looked at the way her wedding band sparkled in the candlelit room. "So how do you feel?" she asked him in a quiet voice.

"Tired," he replied sleepily.

"No!" Rinoa protested. "I mean … how do you _feel _… being, you know, Mr. Rinoa Heartilly?" she teased, her brown eyes sparkling mischievously.

He looked up at her and smiled tenderly. He touched her cheek with his fingertips and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Happy," he said honestly.

Rinoa smiled back at him, her heart full to the bursting point. "Good night, Mr. Rinoa."

Chuckling, he nuzzled her neck. "G'night, Mrs. Squall."


	8. Perfection

**A/N:** Fluffy, sweet, post-game goodness. Rated K+. Rinoa's idea of heaven is a pretty simple one. :)

**Perfection  
(Prompt: Bliss)**

Rinoa smiled as she walked across the flower field to where Squall was standing. His eyes lit up when he saw her approaching, and that warmed her heart more than she could possibly ever say.

"It's nice out here today," she said casually, standing beside him and resting her head on his shoulder. He gave her forehead a light kiss. It was habitual, now, but it still felt nice, being with him like this.

"It's nice here every day," he replied.

"Mmm," Rinoa agreed, closing her eyes. "So whatcha doing out here, anyway?"

"Just having a moment, before we have to go back," he said, shrugging. "You were still sleeping; I didn't want to wake you."

They had come to Cid and Edea's because Squall had wanted to discuss something with them, but he wouldn't tell Rinoa _what_. That alone filled her with no small bit of trepidation, but after three years with him, she knew better than to pester the boy. He'd tell her eventually.

So, instead of dwelling on unchangeable things, she had taken advantage of the time with Edea to work more on centering herself and controlling the magic that now coursed through her veins as naturally as blood.

But now, they were getting ready to head back to Garden, and Rinoa was tired of the secrets. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Squall," she said, stepping back from him and giving him her famous Evil Eye.

He looked at her and tossed her a lopsided grin. "So what do you think? Two or three bedrooms?"

"Huh?" Rinoa asked, completely befuddled by his question.

"And facing the sea, or away from it?"

"You need to slow down and explain to me what exactly you're babbling about," Rinoa told him.

He laughed. "The house, silly. I mean, we've got to figure out exactly what we want …"

"House? What … house?" Rinoa asked, her heart speeding up.

"Uh, our house," Squall said, as though it should be obvious.

"We have a house?"

"Do you see a house here?" he asked her wryly.

"Um, no?"

Her confusion only made him smile more. "Then no, we don't have a house," he told her. "Not yet anyway."

"Not … yet," Rinoa repeated. She was starting to get annoyed by his cryptic behavior. "Would you care to enlighten me? Or is this just some kind of joke that's going to be ongoing from now on?"

He threw up his hands. "You're supposed to be smart, Heartilly!" he exclaimed.

"So … are you saying that … at some point in the future … we're _going_ to have a house?" Rinoa asked, afraid to even hope.

"Sometime in the _near_ future," he corrected her. "That's what I was talking to Cid and Edea about. This land is ours, now." She blinked. That was unexpected. "Well," he continued. "It's always been ours … but now, it's official. And whatever kind of house you want, we'll build it right here."

"But … it's so far from Balamb," she said.

"Balamb's mobile!" Squall said, waving his hand dismissively. "And there's the airship… come on, Rin. You and I both know you aren't completely happy living at Garden all the time."

"Well … no, but …"

"But nothing." His eyes were serious now. "I want to do this for you."

Rinoa's eyes filled with tears and she threw herself into his arms. "Oh, Squall," she cried. "I … I don't even know what to say!"

He held her for a long moment before he spoke. "Well, you can start by telling me what you want. This is _your_ dream house, Rin. I'll be happy anywhere, as long as you're there, too."

Rinoa pulled back from him and looked up, overcome with emotions for this wonderful, beautiful man. "Yeah?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he told her with a small smile.

Taking a deep breath she turned around and scanned the area. She took several large steps to her right and smiled. "I want the front to face the sea," she told him. "And I want the living room to be here. And _big_. With lots of places for people to sit and hang out. And then, the kitchen should be off the left …" she ran several yards away and waved her arms in a wide sweeping motion. "Like right here!"

She continued on, and he mentally made notes of the locations she'd mentioned for the living room, kitchen, office, and library. No, Rinoa didn't have grand ideas at all. He smiled to himself as he watched her practically dance around amongst the flowers. She brought so much joy with her … after being afraid for so long, now, all he could feel was contentment.

"Aren't you forgetting a room?" he asked teasingly, and she giggled.

"You're terrible, Squall Leonhart," she admonished him good-naturedly. "I swear, is that _all _you ever think about?" She winked.

"This coming from _you_, Heartilly? That's rich. _You're _the one who suggested that thing with the …"

All of a sudden, she froze, her eyes wide. "Shh," she said, and his sentence died on his lips.

He immediately worried that something was wrong. But then a small, secretive smile played on her lips, and she looked at him, a wicked glint in her eyes. She crooked her finger at him, motioning for him to join her. As soon as he reached her, he felt what had made her stop cold.

_Here. Right here._

It was _the _spot. The _exact_ location she'd brought him back to, three years earlier.

"You feel it too, don't you?" she whispered. "This spot … this is the master bedroom."

He didn't say anything. Instead, he turned and gathered her into his arms and kissed her as if the whole world depended on it.

She pulled back briefly and sighed. "I take it you agree," she breathed.

"I don't know," he said in a low voice, one that Rinoa knew only too well. "I'm not convinced yet."

Rinoa shook her head at him. "Oh, really? How can I convince you?"

With a chuckle, he pulled her down and laid her back in the tall grass. "I don't know," he murmured as her kissed her neck. "Maybe like this …" Sighing, she closed her eyes and gave herself over to him, with only one thought in her mind.

_This is perfection_.


	9. SeeD Examination

**A/N:** So this prompt was kinda silly, and it took me awhile to get it written. Rinoa's SeeD examination doesn't go _quite_ as planned. Rated K+.

**SeeD Examination  
(Prompt: Whew)**

"Okay, are you ready?" Squall asked Rinoa as they stood outside the entrance to the Centra caverns. Quistis and Irvine stood nearby, watching them. The rules stated that Rinoa had to defeat this monster with the support of one SeeD member, and that there must be two _outside_ support members, in case there was an emergency.

Rinoa nodded vigorously -- _too_ vigorously. In fact, she just _kept _nodding. Squall almost laughed at her … she was so clearly terrified. "Tell me one more time?" she asked.

"There's a rare monster called Zagan waiting inside. Kill it, with a SeeD member supporting you, obtain one of it's horns, and you pass the test," Squall explained as if it were the most simple task in the world.

"You left out the other part," she said pointedly, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, you mean about how this particular nasty beast is said to be the High King of Hell?" Irvine chimed in, grinning wickedly at the nervous brunette. Quistis smacked the hat off of his head, and he ran to catch it before it blew away.

Rinoa clapped her hands in false glee. "Oh, please tell me again; that's my _favorite_ part!" she yelled scathingly at Irvine. She looked back at Squall. "I don't think this is fair," she continued. "When _you_ became a SeeD, all you had to do was obtain _Ifrit_. I have to _kill a Hell-God_.I bet he eats little girls like me for breakfast! I don't know if I want to be a SeeD any more."

"You knew the task beforehand," Squall pointed out, ignoring her petulant tone. After nearly two-and-a-half years with her, he knew she was just stalling. "And for your information, I did not _just _have to obtain Ifrit. I had to obtain Ifrit _and_ liberate Dollet from the Galbadian army."

"Oh, how could I forget," Rinoa quipped dryly. "Remind me -- were there any _Hell-Gods_ in Dollet?"

From her vantage point, Quistis bit back a laugh. Rinoa had a tendency to get quite nasty when she was afraid or nervous about something, and it never ceased to amuse Quistis.

"Rin." Squall's eyes were serious now as he studied her. He recognized her lashing out for what it was -- sheer terror. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "You will do just _fine_. You have your magic, which can take out _anything_. Hey. Look at me." He smiled at her gently, and she managed a tenuous smile back. "If we can beat Ultimecia, then this should be no problem. And the Hell-God thing is just a myth. You know that, right?"

Rinoa pursed her lips and nodded. "Okay, I'm ready," she said, though she had never felt more _un_-ready in her entire life. She'd seen pictures of this monster, which looked like a bull-headed griffon. Selphie had shown her the textbook entry about him, and Rinoa had seriously had nightmares for a _week_.

Squall squeezed her hand again, and they entered the cavern. At first, things weren't too bad, even though the cave was so dark, Rinoa couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of her. Small creatures, like armadodos, bats, and blobras roamed the many labyrinthine corridors, and a few of them jumped out of the shadows and ambushed them. But they were easily taken care of as Rinoa blastedthem with her highly-refined Sorceress magic. Nearly a year of training with Edea after the war had given Rinoa incredible control over her powers, and she was now one of the most formidable SeeD candidates that Garden had ever seen.

Squall sliced through an angry group of monsters with his gunblade, and looked back at Rinoa. "You're doing just fine," he said reassuringly, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Yeah, because these are the lowest of the low creatures on the _planet_," Rinoa retorted.

Suddenly, there was a deep, rumbling growl from somewhere in the back of the cavern. To Rinoa's ears, it sounded _very _angry … and possibly hungry.

Rinoa's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Let me guess -- Zagan?"

"Probably," Squall said, concern knotting his stomach for the first time since they'd arrived. Whatever it was, it didn't sound _pleasant_. "Come on, let's keep going."

Rinoa could only nod and follow along. She blasted a few bats away without even realizing what was she was doing as they continued toward the back. Or at least, she _assumed_ it was the back. It was so dark, it was really hard to tell.

The farther they walked, the louder the rumbling noise seemed to get. Rinoa swore at one point, she felt the ground shudder beneath her feet.

"Ummm," she said as the corridor began to widen. It felt like they were walking into a large chamber -- she could no longer feel the walls on either side of her when she stretched out her arms. "You're absolutely sure this cave doesn't actually lead _into_ _hell_, right, Squall?" she asked him in a tremulous voice. He didn't answer. "Squall?" she hissed. "Squall Leonhart, I swear to all the gods, if you don't answer me _right this second_ I will blast you into next week!"

A hand on her shoulder caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. "Sorry," he said quietly. "I was trying to figure out the best course of action. According to Xu's research, if this is the right place … Zagan _should _be in this room."

"You know he's probably watching us from the shadows right? Smacking his lips and preparing his human-roasting spit. We probably look _so tasty_ to him."

"Rin," Squall said in an even tone. He knew she was coping with her fear the best way she knew how … but he was starting to get more than a little freaked himself and her incessant chattering was wearing thin. Xu was _definitely_ going to be hearing about her poor choice of SeeD qualification exams when they got back to Balamb.

There was a sudden blast of cold air behind him, and he stiffened into his battle stance immediately, gunblade at the ready. He reached out, but Rinoa wasn't in range. _Shit, _he cursed to himself. "Rinoa?" he said in a low voice, hoping not to attract any unwanted attention.

"Something's here," she said, and her voice sounded strange. He knew she was calling on her magic then. "I can feel it. Hold on." There was a flicker, and suddenly he saw Rinoa clearly. She had summoned a small orb of incandescent light, and held it in the palm of her hand. The light wasn't as bright as normal, for some reason, but it was better than nothing. "There you are," she breathed in relief, seeing his face for the first time since they'd entered this horrid place, nearly two hours earlier.

She turned slowly, allowing them to get their bearings in the room. It was enormous … it seemingly stretched on forever, with no walls that she could see. "Squall?" she breathed. "Where's the entrance?" She turned quickly now, trying to find the corridor that would lead them back out of here.

A deep voice met their ears then; it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, all at once.

_You must defeat me to get out, little humans._

"Squall, I'm going to kill you. No, really. You are sooo dead if we get out of here …" Rinoa hissed warningly. There was a growl and what sounded like the swiping of a massive claw to her left, where Squall was standing, and she shrieked, spinning on her heel. "I said _I _was going to kill him!" she shrieked. "_Not you_!"

"Rinoa -- look out!" Squall's voice called out a split second before the spell for her light faded, and they were thrown back into darkness.

"Squall?" Rinoa cried. "Squall, where are you?"

"Ow, son of a _bitch_!" Squall's voice snarled in the darkness, off to her left, and Rinoa followed the sound to stand at his side.

"Are you hurt?" she asked him, touching his arm. She jerked back instantly as something warm and viscous coated her fingers. "Oh, my Hyne, you're _bleeding_," she said.

"I'm okay. Just … focus on finding this thing."

The creature laughed then, and it chilled Rinoa to the bones. "Where _is _he?" she asked, mostly to herself. She closed her eyes and tried to summon another orb of light, but it didn't work. Frowning, she stretched out her hand and tried to fling a firaga spell into the void of the room. Only a weak spray of sparks radiated from her fingertips.

"Rin, what's wrong?" Squall asked her, knowing that his voice was giving away how nervous he truly felt.

"I don't know," she whispered. "My magic … it's not working."

"What do you mean, 'it's not working'?" Squall asked in a strained voice. "How can it _not be working_, Rinoa?"

Rinoa ground her teeth at his testy attitude and the way he had said her name, as though she were some incompetent five-year-old. "Did you see those sparks a minute ago?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he said warily.

"That was _supposed _to be firaga," she snapped.

He was silent for a long moment, and Rinoa wondered what was going through his mind, if he was as terrified as she was at that point. "Try again," he finally said.

She did as he asked, but this time, not even a sputter of magic emanated from her. She couldn't even feel it inside her any more. "Something's wrong, Squall. I'm not … I'm not feeling _anything_ at all."

_Your magic is useless here, little human. No power on this planet can defeat me!_

Rinoa gulped. The voice seemed closer now. And without her magic, they were so beyond screwed.

As if on cue, there was a great _whooshing_ noise behind them, and she heard Squall curse. "_Rinoa_!" he called out from somewhere in the room. She spun frantically, arms outstretched, trying to find him in the darkness, but she _couldn't find him_, and then, she heard the clatter of his gunblade on the stone floor.

Her heart stopped, her throat constricted, and she couldn't even _think_ of how to make her feet move. "Squall!" she screamed. "_Squall_!" she screeched, practically hysterical with terror. No answer. Nothing. And she had no idea where he was. She could hear the beast breathing somewhere not that far behind her and she closed her eyes, willing herself to be brave.

_Too bad, little human. Looks like there's no one left to protect you._

With those words, Rinoa's head snapped up. "Protect me? You think I need someone to _protect _me?"

She closed her eyes, and looked inward. Edea had taught her all about keeping calm in times of great stress, and using her inner eye to see what she wanted, what she needed. "Trust the bond," Edea had told her. "Reach out for it … it won't fail you." This would be the first time she'd ever have to put those lessons to the test, in a real life-or-death scenario.

She focused on the bond, and on what she wanted most of all … _strength_ to stand up to this creature, and she put all her energy behind that thought. She felt a crackle of electricity surrounding her, and in her mind's eye, she saw Squall … lying not five feet from her, his gunblade a short ways beyond that.

Relieved, she quickly went to him, wanting to make sure that he was still breathing. As soon as she touched his face, she felt the spark return to her … that was it. They hadn't been close enough inside the cavern, they hadn't been able to _see_ each other, and Zagan had been able to mess with the magic. But now … now she was right beside Squall, her hand on his face, and she felt _strong_.

_You're just a little human,_ Zagan continued to taunt her. _Weak. _There was another _whoosh_, and Rinoa suddenly felt suffocated by an overbearing presence.

She looked up, and saw him standing above her. She could feel his hot, rancid breath on her face as he stared down at her. She reached her hand out, preparing to launch another spell at him. Instead, Squall's gunblade slid across the floor, and skidded to a stop beside her. Knowing better than to argue with the magic, she grabbed it.

Her body immediately jerked upright, as if pulled by an invisible cord, into a battle stance that she'd seen Squall use so many times in the past, but had never herself mastered. Until now. She felt something coursing through her, and though there was _no way _that she should know this, she recognized what was happening … Renzokuken. It had taken Squall _years_ to master the art of the gunblade, and yet, somehow, it was in _her _brain as if she'd been born to wield this weapon.

It was the bond. It _had _to be the bond. She was understanding and executing maneuvers that she would _only _know if she were Squall. _It doesn't matter now, _she told herself. _Use it. Use it, or you're both dead._

A sound escaped from her throat, a low, guttural growl -- she hadn't known she could even _make_ such a sound -- and she leapt at Zagan.

"I am not weak!" she cried out, thrusting the weapon outward. A rain of sparks flew from it, and her body began making movements that were not her own, movements she'd seen Squall do a million times in the past. Magic flashed down the blade of the sword, enhancing the power of the attack.

Zagan howled as the magic burnt his flesh, as the blade cut into him unrelentingly. Closing her eyes, Rinoa let the power of the gunblade, and her own magic, take over. She didn't need to seewhat she was doing. She felt the sword connecting to the monster, heard him howling out in pain and anger. Satisfaction flared through her as she felt the rush of air beneath her feet that lifted her off the ground. A flurry of attacks rained down on Zagan … Lionheart.

With a final slash of the blade, Zagan fell to the ground with a heavy thud. With the death of the beast, the darkness in the cave lifted, and suddenly the room was filled with a blazingly bright light. It seared Rinoa's eyes after having been in the dark for so long.

Her grip on the gunblade loosened and it fell from her hands as all the power left her. She fell to her hands and knees, gasping for breath, her heart feeling as though it might explode at any moment. She wondered if she'd ever be able to move again. And they still had to get out of here …

"Rin!" She heard Squall's voice then. She sat back on her heels and looked up at him, a wide, tired smile on her face.

"Thank Hyne," she breathed, touching his face as he knelt down beside her. "You're all right."

"I'm fine," he said, looking at her intently as his hands felt their way down her body, checking for broken bones and lacerations. "I'm sorry, Rin. He came completely out of nowhere, blindsided me. What happened to you? Did Zagan -- did he get away?"

Smiling, she motioned in the direction of Zagan, and Squall turned. His eyes widened in amazement. "You killed him," he said. "You did it!"

"You helped, you know," she said softly.

The light in his eyes warmed her all the way to her toes, and before she realized what was going on, she was crushed up against Squall's body, and his lips were on hers, and he was kissing her as though his very life depended on it.

She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him even closer. The realization of just how close to death they had actually been suddenly hit her hard, and she clung to Squall as though he were a lifeline. They had almost lost each other. "You almost died!" she whispered against his lips. "_I _almost died! Oh, Hyne …"

"Shh, shh, it's okay," he said soothingly, raining kisses across her face. "We're okay."

"But we almost weren't!" she cried. "I couldn't find you … and you were out cold … it was just like …" She looked away, unable to go on as she remembered coming back from time compression -- how scared she'd been then. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to face him. "I had to call on the bond, you know. And I had to use your gunblade."

Squall frowned at that. "What? But you don't know how …"

Rinoa shrugged. "The bond, I guess. I was able to do everything you can do. And I think I did it better," she teased him.

"Not likely, Heartilly," Squall said, pulling her back to him for another kiss.

Rinoa sank against him and deepened the kiss, so glad to be alive. Kissing him had never been better than it was at this moment.

"We should get back," he said, pulling back slightly. "Or they'll come looking for us."

Rinoa nodded. "I just have to go get the horn," she told him as they stood up.

He frowned, his "Commander face" firmly in place. "Actually …" he said, and Rinoa inwardly groaned, knowing she wasn't going to like this. "I can't pass you. You … used the gunblade. And you're not registered with that weapon."

"Are you freaking _kidding me_, Leonhart?" she screeched, whirling around to face him. "We almost _died _here today."

"I have to follow the rules, Rinoa," he said earnestly.

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Fine," she said. "I'll just tell Irvine and Quistis that you got knocked out in the first five minutes of battle and I had to save your ass. _Again_."

"Hey," he protested. "I saved you from space, right?"

"Pass me and we'll call it even," she said with a sly sparkle in her eyes.

Knowing he'd been bested, Squall just shook his head and took Rinoa's hand in his. "Deal," he said, kissing her forehead. "Now come on. Let's get out of here."

Smiling with relief and contentment, and feeling prouder of herself than she ever had in her entire life, she allowed Squall to lead her out of the cave and to the car where Quistis and Irvine were waiting.

"So?" Quistis asked when they got back. "How'd it go?"

"Well, the monster was big, and nasty, and we almost died," Rinoa told her, climbing into the backseat. "Seriously."

"Did it get away?" Irvine asked.

"Nope," Rinoa said, smiling broadly. "I killed it real good."

"So? How do you feel? You're a SeeD now!" Quistis said, grinning at her friend.

Taking a deep breath, Rinoa looked over at Squall who was now sitting beside her. She smiled and said the one word that had been in her mind since Zagan had fallen.

"Whew!"


End file.
